What Good Finally Came from Magic
by cvreitzer
Summary: When Hawke is hit with a spell that turns her into a small child, Fenris' need to protect the woman he loves kicks in. Maybe this will be the push they both needed to get over their past.
1. Chapter 1

**_Prompt from dragonagekink. Original prompt: __Wee!Hawke/Fenris Vows: Because Fenris being around children is hilarious and endearing. Because Fenris being growly and protective is hot and sexy. And Hawke needs someone to take care her/him sometimes. So Hawke gets turned into Wee!Hawke and somehow Templars threaten Wee!Hawke so Fenris pulls out all the stops as Anders does not have a monopoly on glowy protective vengeance.I prefer F!Hawke because in my head canon Hawke was a completely girly girl when she was little playing Rebels and Orlesians but always had to be the Hero of River Dane and save everyone. So props if you pull a princess and her knight, especially when wee!Hawke becomes Lady!Hawke again. _**

**-0-**

**Fenris**

I had watched her for these long years, always longing to be close, but too afraid to make a move. I had missed my chance. We had kissed once, but I had run like a scared child.

After my debacle with Hadriana I had gone to her house. I had hurt her. I had seen it. She wasn't the one I was mad at, but that hadn't stopped me from yelling at her and shoving off her offer of comfort. I had apologized, trying to explain it. And she had been infuriatingly Abby. Kind and understanding. I wanted her to be mad at me. I wanted her to make me feel better. Her kindness always filled me with guilt. I didn't deserve it.

Instead of yelling, she had gently asked if I was alright. She had said she had been worried about me. She had watched me with those compassionate eyes and undone me. I had confessed all my woe to her. Trying to put into words all the anger and hate I felt. How it was consuming me. She listened quietly. Almost reaching out to take my hand. But we had had that conversation a few days before. I didn't like to be touched. I let her think it was the pain of the markings. It was partly that, but so much more. She was too good to be damaged by the taint that was me.

She had then asked about what I wanted to do about my sister. Did I want to find her? Abby offering to help me. I had ranted at the futility of it all. I knew this hurt her. She desperately missed her family. It was a painful subject for her. They were all gone now. Dying one by one until Abby was all alone.

I turned to leave, and she did the one thing I hoped she wouldn't. She reached out and caught my arm. Asking me to stay. I shoved her to the wall. At first in reaction to someone touching me, but as I watched her looking at me, my fear gave way to need. I kissed her. Letting all my churning emotions pour into the kiss. She was shocked at first, holding back from me, but then she had melted into me, careful to keep her hands on my armor. Even in that I had seen she cared. And it scared me. To let someone in was dangerous. For them and for me. I had shoved away from her and ran.

I started to go back a thousand times, but always held off. She was better off without me. She didn't need me to complicate her life. She was still reeling from the death of her mother. She didn't need me around. She didn't need anyone.

Abby was tough and independent. She didn't like to depend on others. She was there for all of us, but kept herself fairly closed off. I had started to get to know her, really know her. Staying close to her after her mother died. But that kiss seemed to spell the end of our closeness. We drifted apart a bit. And after she killed the Arishok she had avoided me for a while. Eventually things went back to normal between us. Or as normal as it could.

I was back by her side. Fighting for mages of all things. Only she could ever get me to do anything as foolish as that. She had always been understanding of my opinion on mages. And she made no apologies for her belief that mages deserved better than they got. Even her mother's death hadn't swayed her opinion on it.

That was how I happened to be in the secret tunnels that mages used to escape the Gallows and the templars used to smuggle in lyrium. She had asked, and I had agreed. With only a slight sneer for her taking Anders with us. It was his friend who was in trouble. Again. Nothing good came from helping his friends. Someday she would wake up and see this.

I hated magic. I always had. Nothing good ever came from it. It only tore lives apart. And it seemed today was going to be no different. I watched helplessly as my beloved Abby took the blow from the apostate mage she had been trying to help. The mage had resorted to blood magic, so mad with fear that she had been unable to see we were trying to help her. I wanted to rail at Abby that that was what happened when you tried to help mages, but I froze as I saw what had happened.

In place of Abby, was a tiny girl. She looked around confused. Hawke's armor hanging off of her as it was too large. I knew without a doubt that I was looking at Abby when she had been a child. The little girl lifted her big eyes to me, fear clearly visible in them.

"Hawke?" Anders asked shocked as the mage was finally subdued.

She turned away from me and looked at him. Varric moved closer to her. "Is that you, Hawke?" He asked as he crouched down.

She made a small whimpering noise that tore my heart apart. I moved like lightning and pulled her into my arms. She looked at me for a second before her tiny arms wrapped around my neck and she buried her face in them. The armor dropped away, leaving her in a far too large chemise.

"It's going to be alright." I promised her as she began to cry. I wasn't so sure it was going to be alright, but I couldn't let her be afraid. Somehow, someway this was going to be made right. I inclined my head to the others. "We need to get her out of here."

"The templars are going to want answers." Varric warned. "They're going to be waiting outside. Cullen was doing us a favor by giving us this head start."

"Then we tell them the truth. She turned to blood magic. We hand her over and they will punish her as she deserves." I sneered at the unconscious mage keeping Abby pressed to me. I made a soothing noise as she cried.

"Fenris, they're going to take Hawke. She's been…changed." Anders said watching the small girl horrified.

"Please don't let them take me! Daddy said they were bad!" She wailed and clutched tighter to me.

"No one is going to take you, Abby. I won't allow it." I assured her. I looked at Anders. As loathe as I was to let a mage go, or ask for their help, I had no choice. This was beyond me. I would do whatever was necessary. Anything to save Abby. "Can you undo this?"

"I don't even know where to begin. I don't know what she did. I don't know how she did this. I've never seen or heard about anything like this." Anders shook his head and looked dazed. Abby pulled back from my neck a bit and eyed Anders and Varric before she turned back to me.

"I want to go home." She said, her eyes red rimmed from crying. Tears streaked down her tiny cheeks. "Daddy can fix this." I cringed at this. Why couldn't she have kept at least her memories? Magic ruined everything.

"Honey, do you know where you are?" Varric asked moving closer to us. She clung tighter to me and pressed her tiny head against my cheek.

"You're frightening her." I said as I shifted her so I was between them.

"We need to know what she remembers, Fenris."

"I want to go home." She said again. "Please." She begged looking at me. Her voice wavering as did her lip.

"Soon, Abby. I'll take you home as soon as I can. I won't let anything happen to you." I promised. She snubbed and then curled into my neck again. I turned back to Anders. "Do you think the mage will know what to do?"

"I don't know. She was out of her mind, but she's our best option, short of handing her to the templars." Anders nodded. Abby whimpered and I tightened my arms around her.

"We are not letting them near her." I scowled at him.

"I wasn't suggesting we hand her over, Fenris." Anders snapped at me.

"Then what are we going to do?" Varric asked.

"Go and get the others, Varric. We need someone to watch her. Anders, can you carry the mage?"

"I thought you wanted the mage handed over to the templars." He snapped frowning at me.

Abby gasped and pulled back to look at me wide eyed. "You would turn a mage over to the templars? They…they would kill them. Please, please, don't!" Abby begged and began to struggle against me.

"Shush, Abby, no one is taking the mage to the templars. She's coming with us. She will undo this. We'll get you back." I promised. She looked confused but nodded slowly. "Varric, take her things and go for the others. Meet us back at my house. Anders, you said there was a way out of here, right?" I waited for him to nod. "Then get the mage and come on. Danarius had…ways to keep a mage 'safe' there." I said cutting my eyes to Abby who watched me. Anders nodded slowly.

"I suppose that will have to work. We'll see what we can do, I'm so sorry, Hawke. I never should have asked for your help with this." Anders said watching Abby for a moment.

"Why do you keep calling me Hawke? That's what Daddy's called." She frowned at him. She then turned to me. "Where is Daddy?"

"Away, Abby." I answered after sharing a glance with Anders and Varric.

"And Mother?" She asked looking worried.

"Away as well." She frowned and sighed.

"Did they take Carver and Bethany too?"

"Yes." I answered. How were we supposed to explain to her that all of her family were dead? It was too cruel. I couldn't bear to see her deal with the loss again.

"They left me?" She asked, her voice wavering again.

"They had to, Abby. Don't worry, sweetheart. We'll take good care of you." Anders promised giving her a smile. She bit her lip and looked back at me.

"I know you, but I can't remember why." She said watching me. My heart clenched painfully at that. I knew what it was like to lose your memories. I forced myself to smile at her in what I hoped was an encouraging way.

"We're friends." I nodded to her as we started off through the tunnels.

Varric had left through the front to buy us time with the templars. I wasn't sure how he would manage to talk his way out of the situation, but he had managed all these years. Always surprising me with his wild stories that never seemed to fail to get us out of whatever mess Abby had found.

"I like your vallaslin." Abby said moving one hand off my neck to lightly trace the pattern down my neck. "I've never seen white markings though." She looked up at me.

"You know what vallaslin means?" I asked.

"We trade with the clans a lot." She said it in a way as if I should have known this. "Is that how we know each other?" She asked.

"I'm not Dalish." I said before shushing her. I could hear boots clomping through the tunnels. I looked at Anders. His eyes were wide.

"Templars." He said. I crouched down and put Abby on her feet. She looked at me fearfully.

"It will be alright, Abby. I will never let them take you from me. Trust me." She nodded and moved back to the shadows, clinging to a rock as she watched us. Anders dropped the mage behind some other rocks and we braced for the templars.

"What's this? A mage in the tunnels? Our lucky day boys. Knight-Commander's giving bonuses to any who catch a runaway mage." Laughed the helmed templar.

"I suggest you move on. We are on a mission for the Knight-Commander." I answered them. I didn't want to defend Anders. I would have loved to let them take the abomination who enjoyed calling me a beast, but to do so would hurt Abby. And that wasn't something I was willing to do.

"Right, and we're supposed to believe that?" Laughed the templar.

"They are on a mission for the Knight-Commander. Stand down, Roberts." Cullen said appearing with a couple of other templars from the opposite way. "Where is Hawke? Varric said something strange about she wasn't feeling like herself and took a short cut to get home. I came to make sure she was alright."

"Gone." Anders and I both said as I shifted over slightly to farther shield Abby. Cullen narrowed his eyes at us.

"I'm to believe she came into the tunnels with the three of you and left without us seeing her by herself? You two are never far from her side. Further more, I highly doubt she would ever leave you alone in these tunnels, Anders. She would know you were only safe with her." Cullen said crossing his arms. "I ask you again. Where is she?"

"We can make him talk." Offered what had to be Roberts.

"Try it, templar." Anders snarled. I could see him struggling with Justice. This was going to get out of hand soon.

"I won't let you hurt one of my friends!" Said a little voice from beside me. I turned and watched horrified as Abby moved to stand in front of Anders. She placed her tiny hands on her hips, the sleeves of the chemise falling over her hands, and glared at the towering templars. She was in far too much danger for my comfort. From the templars and from Justice or Anders or whatever they called themselves.

"Sweet Maker! That cannot be Hawke!" Cullen crouched down to look at her. "How?" Cullen asked looking at us. His eyes cut back to her.

"Abby, come back to me." I ordered and held my hand out to her. She looked at Cullen and then reached out for me. Cullen placed his hand on her shoulder, keeping her in place. She looked at him fearfully. I couldn't stop myself and began to glow. I took a step closer and loomed over the crouched templar. He spared me a glance before looking back at her.

"What happened, Abby?" He asked.

"I'm not supposed to talk to templars." She said and tried to tug away from him.

"Sweet Maker! She doesn't remember anything, does she? What magic is this?" Cullen asked looking at us. She made a small frightened noise again, squeezing my heart painfully. Abby was always so strong. So tough. She never relied on anyone. To see her so frightened and fragile filled me with an overwhelming need to protect her. More so than usual. And this time, she would allow it.

"Release her at once!" I snarled at him. Cullen let her go and she scrambled behind me, clinging to my leg.

"The Knight-Commander is going to want to see this. Bring her with us." Cullen said as he stood up.

"No." I replied. He turned back to me slowly.

"Excuse me?" He asked. I had challenged him once before when he had started to bow up to Abby. I wasn't afraid of him, or all the templars around him. They wouldn't even wind me if I needed to kill them. But it would frighten Abby. And for some reason she…well, grown up Abby, liked Cullen. She said he was an alright sort even if he was a templar.

"We are taking her home. She's frightened and been through enough. I will not allow you templars to poke at her."

"She needs to be contained until someone can figure this out." Cullen said angrily.

"Contained? She isn't a danger, she's a child!" I snapped at him.

"We would take care of her." Cullen responded.

"Right. Cause templars are so understanding and nurturing." Anders scoffed.

"This doesn't need to be a fight. You can stay with her until the Knight-Commander decides what to do about her." Cullen tried again.

"There is no one going to do anything to her. I am taking her home. If you try to stop me, I will kill you." I said simply. I held out my hand for Abby. She took it and looked up at me. Her eyes full of trust. I waited glaring at the templars. Daring them to object. Finally Cullen took a step back.

"Fine. Take her home, but do not try to run with her. I'll explain it as best I can to Meredith. Maybe Orsino can find a solution to the problem. Too bad the mage got away." He said narrowing his eyes at me.

"As you can imagine we were a little busy trying to figure out what happened to Abby." I said never lying or admitting anything. I could tell he didn't buy the story, but he was going to let it go for now.

"Let's go." Cullen said ordering the men to move out. The others did, Roberts more reluctant than the others. Cullen looked back at Abby one last time. He shook his head and disappeared down an opposite tunnel.

"That was close. We should hurry." Anders said grabbing up the mage.

"Are you alright?" I asked crouching down to Abby. Her lip was out again. She was a cute little thing.

"Fenris?" She asked her eyes big and sad. "Something's wrong with me, isn't it?"

"It's going to be alright, Abby. We need to keep moving. Can I carry you?" I asked holding my arms out to her. She didn't even hesitate to move into them. I gathered her close and hurried through the tunnels trying to keep calm so I didn't frighten the tiny girl who was trusting me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Fenris**

"Oh! She's so cute and tiny!" Merrill said cooing at Abby as she arrived with Isabela.

"Wow, Varric! You weren't exaggerating. She is really a child now." Isabela said as she looked down at sleeping Abby. She was curled up in my bed, her hand holding tightly to mine. Somehow along the way home, she had fallen asleep in my arms. When I laid her down, she had clasped onto me and wouldn't let go. Not that I minded. I was more than happy to watch over her. "We are going to have to find her something to wear. Something ruffled and frilly. Maybe some ribbons. Wouldn't she be adorable with pigtails?"

"Are you hoping to die?" Varric asked with a laugh.

"This isn't right. We have to do something. Maybe the templars are…" Aveline started, but stopped as I glared at her.

"She is terrified of them." Anders explained. "The best we can do is keep her safe until we can unravel this. Or maybe the spell will end and she'll be back. Or maybe we're stuck with baby Hawke."

"I'm not a baby!" Abby protested sleepily as she woke up and climbed into my lap.

Isabela smiled at her and sat beside me. "Are you really remembering everything and just using this as an excuse to cling to Fenris?"

"Leave her alone, Isabela." I said and put my arms around Abby.

"That's a pretty name." Abby said watching Isabela.

"I rather like it myself." Isabela winked at her. Abby smiled back.

"Are we friends?" Abby asked watching the pirate.

"We sure are, angel." Isabela said. I saw the pained look in her eyes that she masked quickly with the smile. She was finally realizing how bad this really was. Despite the fact Abby was rather cute and sweet, she had no idea who we were. She didn't understand what was going on, and she wanted her parents.

"Fenris is my friend too." She said as she played with the buckle on my gauntlet.

"What about the rest of us?" Varric asked her. She turned to look at him, keeping a grip on my gauntlet.

"Well…I think I know you too. Are you friends of my daddy?" She asked.

"We're friends of your's Hawke." Aveline said moving closer.

Abby frowned. "My name is Abby. Only Daddy is called Hawke."

"She doesn't seem to like to be called that." I pointed out. Abby turned around and hugged me, curling up in my arms.

"Seems she's decided she likes Broody. So do you think that means she'll finally admit to her crush on him?" Varric asked grinning at her.

"We need to get her situated and see about the mage." Anders pointed out. He was clearly angry about the situation. I was sure if she was wrapped around him, he would have been fine with it.

"I want to go and see a mage." Abby said lifting her head up to look at him hopefully.

"Maybe later, sweetie." Anders smiled at her.

She pouted and crossed her arms. "You aren't my boss."

"Oh, ho! Hawke was a bit of a brat. I love it!" Varric laughed. She stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to me.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and turned big pleading eyes to me. Her lip quivered just a bit. Abby was dangerous no matter what age she was it seemed. "Please?"

"Abby, right now we need to take care of things. How about you stay here with Merrill and Isabela? Merrill is a mage and Dalish." I said hating that I was going to leave her in the blood mage's hands, but there was little choice right now. Abby's eyes lit up as she looked around the room and saw Merrill.

"We can have lots of fun, lethallan." Merrill smiled at her.

"Can you make the dolls dance around too? Bethany does that when Mother sends us to bed. Makes Carver mad, but he doesn't tell on her." Abby said.

"We'll find some dolls and try it." Merrill promised.

"Kay." Abby nodded to her. She then turned back to me. "You won't leave me too, will you?"

I hugged her to me. "No, Abby. I'll never leave you. I'm just going downstairs to talk with the mage. I'll be right back."

"I'll go and find her something to wear. And play with, I suppose." Aveline offered.

"No, you stay with Merrill. I'll go find her stuff. You wouldn't get her the cute stuff. You would find her little armor or something." Isabela frowned at her.

"It's Hawke…Abby, we're talking about, Isabela. She isn't going to want a dress and ribbons." Aveline shook her head at Isabela.

"I know, but won't she be adorable! And we can push her until she remembers!" Isabela pulled Abby from me. Abby made a protesting noise and I quickly pulled her back.

"Don't touch her if she doesn't want touched." I frowned at Isabela.

"Oooo! Papa Fenris is all protective. Maybe Danarius should have named you for a bear rather than a wolf." Isabela smirked at me.

"Don't be mean to my Fenris!" Abby said glaring at Isabela.

"Aw! Abby's still got that glare down. Not so frightening coming from such a tiny thing. Just cute now." Varric said and chucked her under her chin. She turned in my arms and wrapped around me again, burying her face in my neck.

"We're wasting time here." Anders snapped.

"I agree. Abby, will you stay here with Merrill and Aveline?" I asked pulling her back. She looked up at me with that pouty face and I almost caved.

"You'll come back for me?" She asked.

"Always." I promised. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed my cheek.

"Kay then. Wanna play hide and seek?" She asked turning to smile charmingly at Merrill.

"I think it would be best if you played something where you could stay in this room for now." I said worried about her getting lost in this big house. Maybe I should have put more effort into righting it. She could get hurt on so many different things. Maybe we should move into the Amell estate for now.

I stopped my train of thought then. Hopefully this would be over in a few minutes. Abby would be back to her normal self and we would all have a good laugh at this. She would return to her house. She wouldn't need me to watch over her. She wouldn't want me to watch over her.

"Did I make you sad?" She asked stroking my cheek, watching me with those eyes I loved so much. Only they were normally on a woman that I could think of loving, rather than a tiny girl who looked at me so trustingly.

"No, Abby. Just stay in this room until I'm back with you, alright?" She nodded and reached for Merrill. Merrill cuddled her close and offered to play other games with her. I paused a moment in the doorway to watch the three women crowd around her. Abby smiled at me and then began giggling about something Isabela was saying.

"Now you know what her child would look like. Crazy, isn't it?" Varric shook his head. "Too bad a certain man is too cautious to ever go after her. They could have a few of their own right now."

"She isn't interested in anyone, Varric. Let it go." I sighed. Varric was always taunting me about her. Merrill did as well. Apparently I wasn't as good at hiding my feelings from the others as I was from her.

"Oh come on, Broody! She just called you her Fenris. She wasn't afraid of you at all."

"Can we focus on the mage here? If we don't figure this out, talking about Abby this way will be mote anyway." Anders snapped and started towards the basement where we had chained the mage up.

**-0-**

I jerked the mage up and reached back with my glowing fist. She watched me horrified. "Do not play stupid, mage. The only thing keeping me from killing you is your usefulness. If you say you can't undo the spell, there is no need to keep you alive."

"Fenris, stop scaring her. Her being scared is what got us in this mess to begin with." Anders protested shoving me aside. He held a cup of water for the mage. She trembled against him.

"I didn't mean to hurt the Champion. I was so scared." She whined looking at him pleadingly.

"I know, Rona. We have to figure this out though. Hawke can't stay like this. We mages need her. Think. What spell were you trying to rework?" He said soothing the mage.

"I…I…" She stammered looking at me.

"Speak, mage!" I growled.

"Fenris, maybe it would be better if you went back to Hawke…Abby." Varric suggested.

"So Anders can cater to the mage?" I snarled.

"No, so we can get something out of her. She's too scared of you now." Varric sighed. "Go on. Make sure Abby hasn't killed Isabela."

"Do not release the chains." I warned.

Anders narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm not stupid, Fenris. Besides, you took the only key."

"I'll be back." I warned and stalked off.

I ran into Aveline pacing the main hall. She looked up as she saw me. "Did you manage to get anything?" She asked.

"No. Is Abby alright?" I asked worried.

"She…that isn't the Hawke we all know. She…I…" Aveline shook her head.

"What do you mean?" I asked glancing up at my room. I could hear giggling coming from the room.

"You wouldn't believe me if you didn't see it." She sighed. "I need to get back to the barracks. I'll keep an ear out for any movement from the Gallows."

"Thank you, Aveline." I nodded to her.

"Keep me up to date. If you need anything…"

"I'll let you know." I said and hurried up the stairs. I froze in the door, stunned motionless as surely as if I had been hit by a spell.

Abby was sitting in Isabela's lap. Her chocolate curls in two perky pigtails held in place with purple bows. A matching frilly purple dress on. She was clapping her tiny hands together as Merrill made a group of dolls dance around. Her emerald eyes lit up as she saw me.

"Fenris! Come see what Merrill can do!" She called happily. I moved into the room slowly.

"Abby?" I asked worried as she seemed perfectly content in the outfit, hair do, and were those ribboned slippers?

"Hmm?" She asked holding her hands up for me to take her. I gathered her close and looked at her. "Do it again for Fenris, please." She said turning to smile at Merrill. Merrill eyed me warily.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Abby. Maybe we can do it again later."

"Are you tired?" She asked cocking her head to the side. "Daddy says mages aren't supposed to play with their magic. Did I ask you to do a bad thing?"

"No, lethallan. It was fun. I should go and check on Bandit. Should we bring him over?" Merrill asked looking back and forth between us.

"Maybe we should wait a bit before we bring him here." I said glancing at Abby

"Did you not make any progress on it? Not that this isn't fun. Abby is a sweetheart who loves it when Auntie Isabela plays with her hair, huh, angel?" Isabela asked and tickled Abby who squealed with glee and squirmed in my arms.

"Bela got me this dress. Isn't it pretty?" She asked smiling at me.

"It…is." I said slowly and slightly unsure.

Abby had never seemed very…girly before. It wasn't that she wasn't beautiful, she was very beautiful. But she didn't spend much time on her looks. She wore her long hair in a simple braid. Her armor was always nice, but it was more about function with her. The only thing she liked to be pretty were her daggers. She hadn't even wanted to fix up her estate. If it hadn't been for her mother and Bohdan she would have probably still been using the furnishings and such from the slavers who had been in it before she had bought it back for her mother.

"She's going to be the belle of Kirkwall." Isabela smiled at her. Abby's smile died right away. She turned to me fearfully.

"Kirkwall? That's a bad place. The templars are after Daddy there. Mother's family's there, but they don't like us. I don't want to go there."

"You're in Kirkwall, Abby." Merrill said before we could stop her.

"No!" Abby cried and stiffened in my arms.

"Abby, it's going to be alright." I tried to reassure her.

"Is that why Daddy and Mother left me? Was I bad so they sent me here?" She asked looking at me with tear filled eyes.

"No, honey. You weren't bad. They needed you to be safe. So they sent you here with us. We're all going to keep you safe, angel." Isabela soothed her.

"The templar was angry in the tunnels." She said cuddling close to me. "I'm not a mage so why did they want to take me?"

"Because a mage cast a spell on you. They wanted to try and undo it." I explained as I sat down, shifting her so she was on my knee.

"Is that why I don't remember?" She asked looking at me solemnly.

"Yes." I answered past the lump in my throat.

"That wasn't nice of the mage." She said as she began to play with my hair. "I like your hair." She smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Well, she's still Abby. Random mind." Isabela smiled at her.

"Daddy says my mind works too fast. He says I can't keep up with it. But my mouth goes ahead of it sometimes." She frowned and quirked her mouth to the side. "That's what Mother says." I coughed to cover my laugh. Merrill giggled and shook her head.

"Are you alright to keep her? I could take her back to the estate. Orana and Bohdan could help with her." Isabela suggested as she started towards the door.

"She's staying with me. If this drags out, I'll move us there. I promised her I wouldn't leave her. And I won't." I said looking down into those trusting eyes.

"Fenris saved me from the templars. He glowed all blue and stuff. It was awesome. He's my knight." Abby said turning to smile at Isabela.

"Your knight?" Merrill asked cocking her head to the side as she appraised Abby who was still running her hands through my hair.

"Uh, huh. That's what knights do. They protect girls from the bad guys." She smiled at me then and I found myself grinning again. She was a charmer for sure. I wondered if we were seeing the Abby she would have been if things had been easier for her family. A little girl who still believed in fairytales.

"That's adorable! Fenris still makes puppy eyes at her!" Merrill said clasping her hands together. I frowned at her.

"I do not make puppy eyes!"

"What's puppy eyes?" Abby asked looking at us confused.

"Nothing to concern yourself with." I said continuing to frown at Merrill and Isabela as they laughed.

"Is it a grown-up thing?" Abby asked making a face.

"Yes." I replied grasping at anything to stop this line of questions.

She sighed heavily. "No one ever tells me anything." She grumbled crossing her little arms in a pout.

"She is far too cute. Oh, Abby when this is all over, I'm so going to tease you ruthlessly." Isabela laughed. "I got her more stuff. I put it in that empty chest there. If you need us, you know where to find me. Be good, angel." Isabela said with a smirk. Merrill followed after her leaving me alone with the ruffled and pigtailed miniature Abby.

"You wanna play?" She asked watching me.

"Play what?" I asked confused by what to do with her. What was I supposed to do with a child? Let alone Abby. I prayed they would get something out of the mage quickly. As much as I enjoyed being her protector, I wanted Abby back.

"We'll be the Rebels. We're fighting the evil Orlesians. You can be King Maric and I'll be the Hero of River Dane. Cept I'll be a princess rather than a general."

"You…want to be a princess?" I asked feeling as if maybe Isabela was right. Was Abby just playing at this? Was she testing us to see how far we would go with her act?

"I am a girl, Fenris! I don't want to be a creepy guy. I want to be the hero, but a girl hero." She said as if once again, I should have known this.

"A creepy guy?" I asked. I knew adult Abby didn't like Loghain and had celebrated the year anniversary of his death, but I wasn't sure why little Abby didn't.

"Yep. Saw him once. He has mean eyes." She nodded and then looked around worriedly. "Don't tell Mother. She told me that wasn't nice and he was a great hero."

"I won't." I promised and earned a smile from her.

She then climbed out of my lap and looked around. "Can we go out of the room now? We need something to use as swords. Can't be good army without swords."

"We could go out in the gardens, I suppose." I said. I hadn't been to the gardens since I had moved in. Abby had once and shook her head at the state of them. Merrill had set to work on them, but I quickly ran her off. I didn't want that blood mage anywhere near me.

"Come on!" She said grabbing my hand and dragging me along.

"You don't know where they are, Abby." I pointed out.

"Well, they sure aren't in here." She said with an eye roll that was so much like adult Abby that I had to cough hard to keep from laughing. Yes, teasing her about all this would be an enjoyable thing if we could only get Abby back. She looked around the house and then up at me as we made our way to the gardens. "Something happened to your house." She said glancing around.

"It's a long story." I hesitated.

"That's what adults say when they don't want to explain something." She sighed as I opened the door and showed her the garden. "Oh! I like this place. There will be lots of places to hide!" She smiled up at me. "I'm good at hiding. Mother says it's not fair to Carver and Bethany cause I'm older, but I think even if I was younger I would still be better than them. See the way that shadow moves?" She said pointing to a spot along the wall. I crouched down and nodded. She grinned at me. "Watch." She took off for the shadow, glanced back at me one last time, and with a giggle vanished from view.

I had wondered about her becoming a rogue. I knew her brother had been a warrior and her father and sister were mages. I had wondered if it was a rebellion thing on her or her brother's part. Or if she was just a natural like she seemed to be. And now I had my answer. She was just a natural.


	3. Chapter 3

**Varric**

I watched Anders and Rona as they went over and over the things she could remember. It wasn't much. I was starting to get worried. What if we couldn't undo it? What was that going to mean for Abby? Her family were all dead now. And somehow I didn't see Fenris giving her up to the templars or the Chantry to find her a new home.

This whole episode was going to give me story gold for a long time. If we managed to turn her back. I could just see it now.

Fenris as the glowing protector shielding his tiny lady, until we could save her from the wicked mage who had tried to ruin their love. She would return to her being a woman as Fenris vanquished the evil mage and templar henchmen. Just in time to declare her undying love and devotion to Fenris. He would sweep her up and run off with her into the sunset. Stories of the lovers swooping in saving the day would be told throughout the land. Maybe it needed a dragon. Maybe the evil mage rides a giant fire breathing dragon that injures Fenris. And the only thing to save him is a kiss from his true love. Hmm. Maybe a little too cliché. Stick with the original.

Now we only had the small problem of turning little Hawke back into Lady Hawke. Hmm. Lady Hawke. That had a nice ring to it. I sighed as Anders stood up and shook his head.

"This is going to take some time. She's too messed up right now to remember clearly."

"Do we have time?" I asked as we left her in the cell Fenris had set up for her.

Anders rubbed his face tiredly. "I don't know. I mean I don't think there's a time limit. You know if we don't fix it by the stroke of midnight, she's stuck forever as a child. Magic doesn't work like that."

"Could the spell wear off?" I asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes spells do wear off. Sometimes they are curses that have to be removed. If I knew what the basic spell she mutated was I might could unravel this, but until I know there's not a lot I can do. I'm going to speak to all my contacts. See if any of them have heard anything like this. Justice is going to walk the Fade tonight and speak with other Spirits. Maybe they can help."

"And in the meantime we have a child to take care of." I sighed. I was so not the daddy type. But other than Aveline I had known Hawke the longest. She was the closest thing I had ever had to real family.

"I don't think that the beast is going to let any of us take her. You didn't see how he was with the templars." Anders said shaking his head. "As much as I don't like him, he won't let anything happen to her."

"And people are more hesitant to try stuff with him. But what can he possibly know about kids?" I asked as we went to his room. There were dolls laying about, but no Abby or the others. We heard laughter coming from outside. We glanced at each other and moved to the window in the room.

The sight was one I would never have believed if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Abby in a frilly purple dress, with matching bows in her pigtails and on her slippers, was swinging a stick around as if it was a sword. Fenris had one as well. Abby lunged in a good mimic of a duelist. Isabela would have been proud.

Her tiny voice was deepened comically. "And with that final blow the lands were saved from the evil Orlesians!" She dropped her stick and threw herself at Fenris. "Now it's your turn."

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked looking at her with a bemused expression.

"You're supposed to knight me and name me a hero." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh. Um…right. Well, um…you're knighted great hero." He said hesitantly.

She sighed and took his stick. "Not like that, silly. Here I'll be the queen and you can be the hero." She waited a moment and then sighed. "You're supposed to kneel before me."

"Oh." He said and quickly dropped down. She then touched his shoulders with the stick.

"I knight thee good ser, for your faithful dedication to the peoples of Ferelden. From this day forth you shall be the Hero of the lands. Arise good ser and take your rightful place beside your queen." She said seriously.

"Well, would you look at that? Even little Hawke has the power to wrap us all around her little finger. I never thought I would see the day when Fenris actually smiled." Anders said shaking his head. And he was smiling. A full smile. Not his normal smirk. He looked down at her and I could see he was completely enchanted with Abby.

"Well, I guess he's going to be alright looking after a child after all."

"I think Abby will point out if he does something wrong." Anders laughed as Abby was then schooling him on how he was supposed to bow and address his adoring public. "But we should probably go and talk with him. Maybe he doesn't want to keep her. I could keep her down at the clinic."

I felt sorry for Anders. He liked her as well as Fenris did. But Abby had it bad for the handsome elf. I had seen it the first time she had laid eyes on him. She just didn't know how to pursue him. And Fenris was too sure he shouldn't pursue her. So I had watched them dance around each other for years now. Maybe this was going to be a good thing. Maybe it would force them to discuss their feelings.

"Sorry, Blondie. After witnessing this, my money is on Broody keeping the little bossy darling." I said and patted his shoulder.


	4. Chapter 4

**Meredith**

I looked up from my paperwork at the knock on my door. I was expecting Hawke. She was supposed to be helping me with some mages. I was hoping that sending her after these troublesome mages would show her the error of her ways. As much as I disliked the Ferelden upstart, she was a necessary evil. For now.

"Come in." I called curtly. No doubt she was here to tell me all the mages had mysteriously disappeared. I should have known she was going to give me trouble when she had walked in with that apostate she ran around with.

"Forgive the intrusion, Knight-Commander, but I thought I should speak with you about the latest development." Cullen said entering.

I leaned back in my chair and motioned him in. He shut the door behind me and waited my permission to speak. I appraised the man as he stood there. He had been a dedicated templar. Having survived the Circle in Ferelden had hardened him into a full belief in his vows and the order. But lately I had seen that devotion slipping. His friendship with Hawke seemed to be softening him a bit.

"I'm going to assume Hawke didn't do as I asked her to." I sighed.

"Well, it is about Hawke, but…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Had she been injured? Oh, that would be too wonderful. Her killed trying to help a mage. It would sway the nobles back to my side.

"Is she dead?" I asked barely able to contain my glee at the thought.

"No. But she is…well…changed." He sounded unsure.

"Explain yourself." I snapped tired of the stalling.

"The mage Rona got away. She cast a spell on Hawke and it…well, she's a child now. The others understandably didn't pursue the mage. They were worried about the child…or Hawke or…well…" He shrugged.

I held up my hand. "Let me get this straight. Rona turned Hawke into a child?" Could this possibly be done? I had never heard of such a thing. It had to be blood magic. And a way for me to dispose of Hawke without it looking as I had done it. She had been touched by blood magic. She had to be killed now.

"Yes. I don't know how it happened, but she…Knight-Commander, she doesn't remember anything. She thinks she's a child. She was confused and frightened when we saw her."

"Where is she now?" I asked. A new plan forming. Perhaps if we could bring her back here, we could save her from this. Wipe her memory for good. Mold her into the Champion she should have been. Make her my ally. My puppet as it were. Give the nobles what they had been demanding. A viscountess. But not just any viscountess, one I would be in control of. It was perfect. The right pressure on the right mages and she would be my new toy.

"Fenris, the elven slave, took her home. He wouldn't let us bring her back here. I didn't think it wise to cause a fight with them. She was frightened enough. I did tell him that you would decide what was to be done about her." Cullen bowed his head to me.

"Did they take her to his house or her home?" I asked. I then waved him off. "It doesn't matter. Send Karras to me then return to your post."

"If you don't mind me asking, Knight-Commander, what are you planning on doing with her?" He asked.

"Why help her of course. We cannot allow Kirkwall's Champion to stay a frightened child." I smiled at him. He still looked worried, but went to do as I bid him. Karras came a short time later.

"You sent for me, Knight-Commander?" He asked. I knew he was going to love this. Hawke had made a fool of him a few years ago.

"We have a Champion to go and fetch, Karras. Gather some of your men. You will escort me to find her."

"She's finally going to pay for her aid to the mages?" He asked a cruel gleam lighting his eyes.

"No. She's finally going to serve our purpose." I laughed and explained my plan to him. He was my most devoted and trusted templar. He nodded when I finished.

"I know just what mages to press. I will meet you at the gate in a few minutes, Knight-Commander."


	5. Chapter 5

**Fenris**

"She's staying with me." I said moving to block Anders when he started into the garden. Abby was currently digging in the dirt with a stick. They hadn't gotten anywhere with the mage. Anders thought it best to give her some time to calm down. I was thinking we should just kill her if she wasn't going to help. We would do this his way for now. But there was no way he was taking Abby anywhere.

"I think we should let her decide." Anders protested.

"Hey, guys. Let's not fight. We have an audience." Varric said in a whispered and sing-song tone.

I turned to find Abby standing there looking at us worried. She was pouting again. "You two are fighting." She said and looked so sad I would have kissed Anders if she asked me to.

"No, Abby. We were discussing what we were going to do with you." I hurried to explain as I crouched down to her level. She leaned into me and bit her lip. She then looked up at Anders and Varric.

"Can I stay with you until Daddy comes back for me?" She asked looking back at me.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I said smiling at her. She smiled and hugged me for a second before she moved over to Anders. He bent down as she watched him.

"You really want to stay here?" He asked her. She nodded. "Even though I'm a mage?"

"You are?" She asked cocking her head to the side. She reached up and brushed a strand of his hair back from his face.

"I sure am. I ran away from the Circle. Just like your daddy did." He said. I hissed in a breath. That was a low blow. Playing the mage and her father card. Bastard.

"Then the templars are hunting you too." She said moving to hug him. He held her as she wrapped around him. It was all I could do not to rip his heart out right then. He glanced at me smugly as she curled into his arms.

"Not yet. I have this friend who is a mighty Champion. She protects me." He said smiling at her.

"A girl hero?" She asked looking at him with big happy eyes.

"Yep. A very beautiful girl hero. Strongest and best person I've ever met."

"Can I met her?" She asked.

"Sorry, sweetheart. She's not here right now. But she's going to be back real soon." He said looking pained for a minute.

"I want to be a hero when I grow up. I want to save the mages so they don't have to be scared all the time. Daddy says I'm going to do it too. Mother tells me to settle down when I say it. She says she wants a daughter not a hero." She said as she twirled his ponytail around her fingers.

"I bet you will be a great hero." He said looking at her as if she was the most precious thing ever.

"I know you will be. And I'll tell stories about you." Varric said. She grinned at him and squirmed out of Anders arms. She moved over and took Varric's hand.

"You tell stories?" She asked.

"I sure do. My favorites are about the Champion." He said smiling at her.

"The one Anders' is friends with?" She asked.

"The very one."

"Do they have a knight in them?" She asked.

"A knight?" He asked looking down at her.

"Uh, huh." She said and hurried back to me. I lifted her up as she wrapped around me. "Every girl needs a knight." She kissed my cheek. "Like my Fenris."

"You're right, sweet girl. Every girl needs a knight. And she does have one. They just haven't declared their love yet."

"Why not?" She asked frowning at him.

"Cause they are too afraid to."

"Why?" She asked looking confused. Her pigtails swinging as she cocked her head.

"They have both had hard lives and neither one wants to show any weakness. They think that having feelings or relying on someone else would make them weak."

"That's sad. He should tell her." She said with a sharp nod. I looked at her quickly.

"Why should he tell her?" I asked.

"Cause she probably thinks he doesn't like her." She said rolling her eyes at me.

"And why would she think that?" Varric asked smirking at me.

"Cause if she's doing all the saving, he can't be her knight. If he can't rescue her, how is she ever going to know how he feels?"

"Yeah, Fenris." Varric said with a laugh.

"So, Abby. Who are you going to stay with?" Anders asked frowning at us.

She looked at the three of us. She then tightened her arms around my neck. "I like you both, but you aren't my knight. I want to stay with my Fenris." It was my turn to smirk at Anders now.

"Are you sure?" He asked her. She squirmed until I put her down. She ran to him and hugged him. She kissed his cheek and then Varric's.

"I'm sure. Wanna come over and play tomorrow?" She asked smiling at them.

"We'll be here bright and early." Anders said smiling at her. She grinned and then ran back to me. "You sure you can handle this?" He asked looking at me.

"How hard can it be?" I asked looking at her as she beamed at me.

"Oh! Those are famous last words." Varric laughed. "Come on, Blondie. The sooner we leave the sooner we can come back and see how hard it really is."

"Come on, Abby. Let's walk them out." She held her hands up to me and I lifted her up. There was a pounding on the door as we entered the main hall. We froze and looked at each other before turning to her.

"Templars or hunters?" Varric asked fingering Bianca.

"Would hunters really knock?" Anders asked.

"Abby, I want you to stay in here. If something happens, run to my room and hide. Got it?" I said setting her down. She whimpered and clung to me.

"Don't leave me." She begged. The pounding was getting more insistent.

"Abby, do as I say." I ordered. She snubbed again but nodded. I moved with the others to the door. We froze as we heard the voice through it.

"Open this door at once!" Yelled the Knight-Commander. We glanced back at Abby who watched us from the doorway.

"Varric…" I started.

"I'm on it. No one is getting close to her." He nodded and moved back to her.

"Anders?" I asked turning to look at him.

"I'm trying to keep him leashed." He assured me. "Though if they try…"

"If they try, they die. Unleash him." I nodded. Anything for Abby.

"I'm scared." Abby said. I turned and looked back at her.

"It will be alright, Abby. Fenris is your knight. He won't let anything happen to you." Varric promised as he moved to shield her. He nodded to me and I went to the door.

Meredith was reaching up to pound again when it opened. She huffed an aggravated breath and crossed her arms. "I'm here for the child."

"Then you came a long way for nothing." I said holding the door so she couldn't barge in.

"Come now, Fenris, isn't it? We don't have to be enemies in this. We don't want to harm Hawke. We want to help her." She said eyeing me.

"And just how are you going to help her?" I asked.

"We have the mages working on the problem. As soon as Cullen told me what had happened, my heart went out to her. It must be horrible to be a frightened child without any family. We can't allow our Champion to suffer like this. Give her to us and we will take care of the problem."

"Abby isn't a problem." I snarled at her as she tried to shove past me.

"I wasn't suggesting she was. I was suggesting the mages being the problem. Haven't they taken enough from her already?" Meredith shook her head. "We can't let them get away with this. You know the importance of keeping mages secure."

"You aren't taking her. If your mages come up with a solution, let us know. I'll bring her to the Gallows then. She's scared enough already. We don't need you templars making her more afraid." I said and started to close the door. Meredith caught it and moved closer to me.

"But don't you see the opportunity before us? We can fix this. And her fear of templars. We can help her see that mages are the bad ones, not us templars."

"Don't even think about it, Fenris!" Anders protested.

"We could even make her get rid of him. I've seen the way you watch her. She would be all yours if he was out of the way." Meredith tried.

"And you are a fool if you think I would ever believe any of that. Hawke is her own person. I wouldn't change her for anything. And if I had to get rid of him to earn her favor, I wouldn't be worthy of her favor. You are not getting Hawke. Leave now before things get ugly." I snapped at her.

"Do not threaten me, elf. I give you an opportunity. If you resist, you will fall at my feet as so many others who tried to stop me."

"Try it." I growled and called the markings to life. I leaned closer to her daring her to make a move.

"Is there a problem here?" Aveline asked. Meredith's templars parted and showed that Aveline with several guards stood behind them. Aveline made her way to Meredith's side.

"This doesn't concern the city guards." Meredith glared at Aveline.

"Oh, really? Seems to me it does. You are causing a disturbance in Hightown. That makes it my business."

"It is templar business, Guard Captain. This man refuses to hand over Hawke. She has had blood magic used on her. We must take her so we can determine the extent of damage. And if she is possessed."

"She's not possessed, you idiot!" Anders yelled. I shoved him back as he tried to get around me. "You just want to take her to either kill her or use her!"

"We cannot know what happened. We must take her. We do not wish to harm her. We want to help her." Meredith argued.

"And I told you, if your mages come up with a solution, we can discuss it. But I will not allow you anywhere near her. Leave now." I snapped.

"We will give you escort back to the Gallows, Knight-Commander. This way." Aveline said motioning her to come with her.

"This isn't over, elf." Meredith glared at me as she left. I closed the door and leaned against it. I caught Abby up when she ran to me.

"It's alright, Abby. I won't let them hurt you." I promised hugging her close.

"I can't believe Meredith actually thought you would hand her over." Varric said shaking his head.

"I can't believe Anders thought I would." I glared at the mage. He at least had the decency to hang his head.

"I lost myself for a moment." He said with a shrug.

"Fenris won't give me up." Abby said smiling at me. "That lady looks mean."

"She is mean. And crazy." Anders said moving over to her.

"Don't scare her, Anders." Varric frowned at him.

"What? I'm just agreeing with her."

"You want us to stick around?" Varric asked ignoring him.

"No. We'll be fine. I have the place secure. And exit strategies if I need to flee. We'll be fine."

"We'll be back in the morning. If you need us before then…"

"I know where to find you." I nodded to him and then bolted the door locked behind them. I sat Abby down and looked at her. "Well, now what are we going to do?"

"I'm hungry."

"Right. Food. Hmm."


	6. Chapter 6

**Fenris**

"Fenris!" Abby shrieked as I was just finishing attempting to get food together. She kept pulling me away from it, and the food was a little bit of a mess.

"Abby, just hang on for a minute." I called trying not to get irritated. She couldn't help it. It was a chant I had to keep going in my head. That girl still had a penchant for finding trouble. She had already managed to break three different vases and a crate of wine, taken a fall down the stairs, bruising her knee in the process, and knocked over a suit of armor, nearly taking her head with the ancient sword. We were going to have to move to the Amell estate tomorrow. It was too dangerous for her here.

She screamed again, a blood-curdling sound that shoved fear through me. It was followed with a loud crash. What had she managed to do this time? I rushed from the room, hunting her. She was supposed to stay in the main hall, but of course she wasn't there.

"Where are you?" I yelled trying not to panic. There was no answer. I ran through the lower rooms, calling her name. I wasn't getting an answer. Panic was welling up in me as I ran through the second floor. I hit the library door, and it would budge. And worse than that, I could smell smoke. "Abby!" I yelled shoving on the door. I pressed my ear to the wood and heard a faint coughing noise.

I ghosted into the room and rushed to the fireplace. She must have attempted to light the fire in here, but something had happened. The rug was on fire. I quickly got it out and turned to find her. The shelves had fallen and were blocking the door. My heart stopped as I saw her crumbled body laying under a pile of books. I shoved them off and turned her.

"Abby, wake up." I didn't know what to do. The fear was pushing all reasoning away. I laid my head against her chest and felt a bit of relief as I heard a heartbeat and felt the steady rise and fall of it. She was alive. She shifted and made a small noise. "Come on, Abby, open your eyes." I pleaded.

She coughed and her eyes fluttered open. Tears welled up in them. I gently lifted her into my lap and cradled her as she cried. Finally the tears stopped and she curled into me. "My hand hurts." She whispered.

"Let me see." I said and pulled back to look at her hand. "What did you do?" I asked as I saw the burn across her palm.

"I was trying to find a book to read. But there wasn't enough light. So I tried to light the fireplace, but it wasn't cooperating. Then…" She trailed off and curled into me more. "I tripped over that armor there, but it wasn't just armor. There's a skeleton in it." She said pointing towards one of the left over bodies from Danarius' stay. I never used this wing of the house so I hadn't bothered to dispose of anything in it.

"How did the fire start?" I asked.

"When I fell, the tinder lit the rug. I was trying to get to the bucket on the shelf when it fell." She explained and looked so pitiful I couldn't even work up irritation at her.

"How did you manage to burn your hand?"

"When the rug caught fire, I moved it towards the fireplace. I was trying to keep it from lighting anything else on fire." She then looked up at me. "Am I in trouble?"

I hugged her to me. She could have been killed. "No. But next time I ask you to stay somewhere, stay there."

"Fenris, why is there a body in here?" She asked shivering against me.

"That's a long story, Abby." I shifted her back. "Does anything other than your hand hurt?" She shook her head. "Then stand right there while I move these shelves so we can get out. Here, drink this. It will help with the pain." I handed her a potion and then waited for her to do as I asked. She drank the potion and then moved back to watch me as I shoved the shelves back upright. I gathered her back up and carried her out of the room.

"Something's burning." She said as we got back to the main hall.

"Food!" I yelled and sat her down. "Stay here." I then ran for the kitchen. Sure enough, the food was burnt beyond anything edible. Smoke billowed out of the room and fire licked at the walls. I grabbed a bucket and quickly doused the flames. I leaned against the doorframe and eyed the damage. I ran my hand through my hair as I thought about how much trouble one small child really could be.

"Uh, oh." Abby said looking in the room around me.

"I thought I told you to stay in the other room." I snapped. She looked up at me wide eyed. I sighed and crouched down to her. "I'm sorry, Abby. Let's see what I can find to feed you. Then it's bed time. Maybe you can't find trouble if you're asleep."

"I'm sorry." She said as tears filled her eyes. I hugged her to me and made soothing noises. Damn her for getting to me so easily. And damn her for giving Anders and Varric so much to gloat over tomorrow.

"It's alright." I said and spotted the plate of cookies. I was sure it was a really bad idea, but she was hungry and it was with in reach. Besides the sooner I got her full, the sooner I could put her to bed. "How about some of these cookies?" I offered and grabbed the plate with one hand while I carried her with the other.

"Mother's cookies!" She said happily as she grabbed one and bit into it.

"Mother's cookies?" I asked. These were a gift from Orana. I had mentioned once to Abby how much I liked them when I had one at her house. I mentioned maybe getting Orana to make me a batch. She had smiled and said that could be arranged. Abby had proceeded to bring me a batch nearly every week.

"Uh, huh. See the mark on it?" She asked holding the cookie for me to look at. I nodded. I had always wondered if it was a w or an m. And what it stood for. "It's a bird for me. Mother must have left these for me."

"A bird? It's not a bird." I protested.

"Yes it is. See?" She said twisting it around. I then sort of saw it. A bird in flight in the distance.

"Why is it marked with a bird?"

"Cause that means they were for me. Mother did it so we wouldn't fight over them any more. She marked them with a sword for Carver cause he likes them and says he's gonna be a warrior. I bet he likes you a lot." She smiled at me as she bit into the cookie. I looked away quickly. I had never gotten a chance to meet her brother. He had been killed as they escaped from the Blight.

"And yours and your sisters is a bird?"

"Nope. Mine is a bird. Bethany's is a bunny. She likes them. And she's sweet and timid like them too. Don't tell her I said that. It would hurt her feelings." Abby said looking up at me. Bethany had been a sweet and timid girl. My heart hurt as I thought of watching Abby end her sister's misery.

"So you like birds?" I asked. I had never noticed this about her before.

"Nope." She said around a mouth full of cookie. She swallowed and smiled at me. "It's supposed to be a hawk. Cause I'm most like Daddy."

"So these are definitely from your mother?" I asked. Could Abby have been the one baking these cookies all this time? Or did she just give the recipe to Orana?

"Yep. Family secret. She taught me to make them. I can make them for you. Well, if we clean the kitchen up first."

"Maybe tomorrow." I said and took the plate and Abby back to the main hall. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad thing after all. Especially now knowing that Abby was the one bringing me the cookies all this time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Varric**

We entered the mansion and were greeted with the smell of smoke. I glanced over at Isabela and Anders. "I'm thinking that it didn't go quite like Broody expected it to."

"We can only hope." Anders said looking a bit too joyful.

"Shouldn't he have realized someone was in the house by now? Normally I don't get two steps inside before he's here." Isabela pointed out. "Should we be worried?"

"Broody can handle himself. Not so sure he could handle Hawke, though." I said as we entered the main hall. Hawke was laying face down on the ground. It looked as if she had fallen over in mid run. Fenris was sitting at the table. His head resting on it. There was an empty plate that I knew had a batch of cookies on it yesterday.

"Isn't she adorable! The little angel must have worn them both out." Isabela laughed and moved to crouch next to Abby.

"No, you can't climb on the…" Fenris jerked awake. He saw us and rubbed his face wearily. "Sorry." He mumbled. We all three burst out laughing. He frowned at us confused. "What?" He asked.

"How hard can it be, he says. I told you that was famous last words!" I laughed.

"What?" Fenris said frowning more.

"You…have something…in your…hair." Anders choked out between fits of laughter. Fenris reached up and started as he realized he had two pigtails with big sloppily tied bows in them. One was high on the back of his head, the other low and off to one side.

"Purple is so your color." Isabela laughed.

"Shush! Don't wake her up!" He protested as he hastily ripped the bows from his hair.

"Have a bit of trouble with the little angel?" Isabela asked climbing up on the table by him.

"She is still the Abby we all know. Girl could find trouble locked in solitary confinement."

"Smells like you had a bit of a problem with a fire." I said moving to sit across from him.

"More like two." He sighed and rubbed his face. He looked exhausted.

"You had two fires?" I asked.

"She set a rug on fire in the library after she discovered that the suit of armor was actually a dead body. In her haste she managed to knock over the bookshelves and knock herself out." He sighed. "She also has a burn on her hand. I gave her a potion and it helped with the pain." He said as Anders drew a sharp breath. "Trust me, as much as she ran around after, she's fine."

"So the other fire?" I pressed. This was going in my story later. I would need to embellish it a bit. Maybe he saved her from a roaring fire caused by the templar henchmen.

"Well, I was trying to fix her something to eat when she started screaming. As soon as I got out the fire and tended her…well, the kitchen might have been on fire." He sighed. "I decided that giving her the cookies would be the quickest thing to feed her and get her in bed. She had already managed to break several things, fall down the stairs, and attempted to fight with a suit of armor. The armor won by the way. I'll have to tease her about that someday." He shook his head.

"You thought giving a small child cookies before bed was a good idea?" Isabela asked with a laugh.

"Well, at the time, yes. I have since learned the error of my ways." He glanced over at Abby and sighed. "She refused to go to bed. Insisted on three stories, but she still wouldn't stay in bed. She started talking really fast and running around. I decided it was safer to keep her in this room. I thought she would run herself out. And she did. Eventually. Not before breaking everything that was breakable in the room. And scaling the bookshelves as if it was a mountain. She then leapt off of them. Leapt expecting me to catch her. I managed to catch her before she got to the rope for the chandelier. Barely."

"And you thought it would be easy." Anders laughed. "So are you ready to admit defeat and let us take her?"

"I am not admitting defeat. But I will move us to the Amell estate if you can't get anything out of the mage." He said. "How did they do it?"

"Who and do what?" I asked puzzled.

"Her parents. How did they manage her? And why in the name of all that is good in the world would they think to have another after her, let alone two more?" He asked shaking his head. "She is more than enough trouble. It is little wonder her mother was always angry with her. She had to deal with her all day long."

I widened my eyes and motioned for him to quit, but it was too late. Abby had woken up at some point and stared at him with wide eyes. "They did leave me cause I was bad. And you think so too." She said her lip trembling.

"Abby…" Fenris started and stood quickly. She bolted. "Abby, wait!" Fenris yelled. Abby ran towards the door, all of us taking off after her. Merrill and Aveline chose that moment to enter the house.

"What's going…Hawke, come back!" Aveline shouted as Abby dodged between them and out the door.

"What happened?" Aveline asked looking at us.

"I have to catch her." Fenris said and used his powers to move quickly past them.

"Should we go after them?" Merrill asked.

"Where would she go?" Anders asked worriedly. "She doesn't remember Kirkwall. We have to find her before the templars do."

Fenris reappeared and looked bewildered. "She used her rogue talents and vanished. What are we going to do?"

"She can't go far. We'll find her. I'll get the guards to start quietly looking. The rest of you split up. Someone stay here incase she comes back. Varric, go and get Bandit. He can find her probably better than any of us. Fenris, which way did she take off to?"

"I don't know. She darted into a crowd and then was just gone. She showed me how she could hide in the shadows yesterday. I can't just sit here." He said and started out the door.

"You need to stay here. You know this house best. Maybe she's hiding here. Or she might come back. She trust you most right now." Aveline said putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"She doesn't trust me right now." He said miserably.

"I'll stay with him. She likes the gardens. Always has. Even as an adult. Maybe she went there. Check the Chantry ones as well." Merrill suggested. "Fenris can make sweeps around his house. Maybe she went into one of the alleys here." He nodded and took off.

We each split up, hurrying to hunt the small girl. Aveline went to round up the guards. Anders went to the market area. Isabela went to search the Chantry area. And I went to get Bandit. I wasn't a man prone to praying but I prayed to the Stone, the Ancestors, the Creators, and the Maker just to cover all the bases. We had to find her before something happened to her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Merrill**

I heard the small sound coming from the dark back corner of the garden. I hurried towards it hoping that I had found her. Sure enough curled up in the corner was little Abby.

"Hey, lethallan. You gave us quite a fright." I said crouching down to look at her.

She looked up at me startled. She curled tighter to the wall as I came near her. "Stay away from me."

"Why don't you tell me why you ran away?" I asked and shifted so I could sit.

"Cause. No one wants me around. I'm bad." She said wrapping her tiny arms around herself tightly.

"No one thinks you're bad, Abby." I protested.

"Yes they do. Mother always says it. And so did Fenris."

"Lethallan, you are not bad. You are a sweet person. You don't remember it now, but you have saved my life on countless occasions. Helped me find purpose again. Does that sound like a bad person?"

"I've helped you? Like a hero?" She asked. I nodded to her. "Merrill, what's wrong with me? Why can't I remember any of you?"

"Well, a mage was afraid and cast a spell on you. She didn't realize you were trying to help her."

"Why was I helping? I'm too little to be doing that stuff." She protested.

"You weren't always so little, Abby."

"What?" She asked frowning at me.

"You were older before she cast the spell on you." I tried to explain.

She gave me a puzzled look and cocked her head. "That's weird."

"Yes, it is." I agreed. "You want to come inside now? Fenris is really worried about you."

"No he's not. He said they shouldn't have had more kids. He said I was bad enough. He said Mother was always angry at me cause I was too much trouble."

"Oh, lethallan! He didn't mean it. He's never been around children. At least that he can remember." I explained.

"He lost his memories too?" She asked. I nodded. "Was it the same mage?"

"No. He was a slave in Tevinter. His master was a mage who was very mean to him. He took his memories when he gave him the markings. He escaped his master, but he keeps hunting him."

"Then why does he stay here? Wouldn't it be better to run? That's what Daddy says we will have to do if the templars find us."

"He stays for you."

"Me?" She asked frowning at me.

"He's your knight, remember?" I smiled at her. Tears filled her eyes and she looked away.

"No, he's not." She curled tighter to herself. "Daddy says I have to learn to take care of myself. He says I have to be my own knight. Mother tells him to let me alone. But he's right, isn't he?"

"Lethallan…" I trailed off as the back gate was wrenched open. "Abby, run and find Fenris." I ordered as templars entered the gates. She jumped to her feet and took off. "You are trespassing." I said turning to block them.

"And you are an apostate. So seems we are going to be in luck. Two birds with one stone. Get the girl." Ordered the large angry man.

I was summoning my powers when I felt his. I stumbled as my mana was drained. I glanced back as I heard Abby scream. "Merrill!" She dodged the templar who reached for her and ran for me. I turned back as the man swung his sword. "No!" Abby screamed and threw herself at the man. It was too late though. I felt his blade sink into me. I jumped back, trying to minimize the damage, but it was a bad wound. I fell to my knees clutching my stomach. Abby punched at the templar, but he just laughed. He caught her arm and smiled at her coldly as he put up his sword.

"What do you want to do about the mage?" Asked the woman templar.

"Leave her. She's not the healer. She's as good as dead. We don't have time to waste. We have the prize we sought." He laughed and drug Abby away.

"Abby!" I cried trying to get to my feet.

"Merrill!" She screamed and struggled. The templar just jerked her up into his arms and stalked out.

"No! You can't do this!" I cried and stumbled as I took a step. I had to do something. I couldn't let them take her.

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**Ser Karras**

I had the Champion in my hands. It was laughable how fate worked out. All those years ago she had made a fool of me. And now I would have my vengeance on her. Meredith would get what she needed and Hawke would get what she deserved.

The tiny girl screamed like a banshee, kicking and hitting me to no avell as she was thrown over my shoulder. My armor protecting me and probably bruising her. I didn't care. I hoped it hurt her.

"You stupid jerk! You hurt Merrill! You can't do this to me! I'm no mage! Let me go!" She kept up a stream of angry words. I wanted to laugh in glee. The others were starting to look nervous though.

"Shut up!" I snapped and jerked her up to look at her. I held her by her arms and shook her a bit. She glared at me.

"When my daddy finds out about this he will destroy you all to get me back." She said angrily.

"Sweet Maker! She doesn't remember anything! This is crazy. What sort of magic could do this?" Hugh said nervously.

"Blood magic." I snarled and then smiled coldly at the squirming girl. "You're father won't be coming to save you, Hawke. None of your family will. They're all dead." I laughed as her eyes widened.

"You're lying! They just had to go away for a while." She protested.

"Nope. You failed to save your own mother from a blood mage. And you killed your sister."

"Liar!" She shrieked and kicked at me. I laughed and threw her back over my shoulder.

"That wasn't necessary." Agatha said frowning at me. She was beginning to question far too many of the new orders lately. I hoped she wasn't going to start being a problem like that stupid Thrask.

"Not necessary, but satisfying." I laughed. I was enjoying Hawke's broken sobs. "Hurry up. We need to get back to the Gallows quickly."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: For you LightsAurora. Couldn't resist the puppy eyes.**

**-0-**

**Fenris**

"Any luck?" Anders asked as I met up with him and Isabela in front of my house.

"No. You?" I looked at both of them.

"No sign of her. No one saw her either. She'll turn up, Fenris." Isabela said trying to give me an encouraging smile, but I could see her worry. She was trying to make me feel better, but nothing was going to make me feel better again. I had hurt Abby. The look on her face was one that would haunt me to my dying day. Something about that look tugged at the back of my mind. She had looked at me like that before. But I couldn't place when.

"She's tough. She'll be alright." Anders said, but I knew he didn't believe it. I knew he was blaming me as much as I was.

"I think I'll check around the…" I started but trailed off as I heard the scream. We looked at each other and bolted for the door. It was Abby. We burst into the garden and saw Merrill struggling to get to her feet.

"They took her! You have to do something!" Merrill said pointing at the broken gate.

"Anders, heal Merrill. We're on the templars." Isabela ordered taking off for the gate. "Hang on, kitten." She said as she passed Merrill.

I raced with her, shoving people out of the way as we raced to reach the templars. "I'm faster on my own." I said glancing at her.

"Go." She ordered as we spotted the templars up ahead.

I ghosted and summoned all the strength and speed my markings gave me. For once I wasn't cursing Danarius, I was thanking him as I caught up with the templars. I reached through the furthest one back, and crushed his heart. I let him drop as the second turned to look at him.

"Mettin? What the…" Was all the second one had time to get out as I reached around his neck and jerked forward, snapping his neck and never breaking my momentum as I used my slamming ability to ram into the next templar, sending him flying and tumbling to the ground. The woman whirled in alarm, drawing her sword.

"Karras!" She warned and took a step back from me. Karras whirled and clutched Abby tighter.

"Fenris!" She screamed. "He hurt Merrill!"

"Stop him!" Karras ordered the woman. She took up a stance to fight me. She wasn't my target. Karras was.

Abby twisted in his arms and bit his ear, drawing blood and a scream from the man. He shoved at her. She dropped to the ground and landed with a thud. I blocked the woman's swings and tried to keep an eye on Abby. She rolled up to her feet and dodged as Karras reached for her.

"You little bitch!" He snarled at her and swung.

"Abby!" I yelled as he swung. I reversed my momentum and launched myself at the templar, trying to get to him in time. But I was too late. He struck Abby. She whirled with the blow and crumbled to the ground. He looked up at me smiling coldly. "That will keep her quiet for a while. Let's finish the elf and get on with this."

"You're going to die." I snarled and ghosted to avoid the woman's swing. She looked startled as I vanished. Isabela popped in behind her and stabbed her in the back.

Karras glanced at the man I had knocked down. "Take her and go, Hugh. I'll hold them off."

Hugh struggled to get up when suddenly Bandit appeared and ran him over. He leapt over Abby's unmoving body and growled at the man, daring any to get near her. I could focus on Karras now. No one else would get close to Abby.

He taunted me as he danced around. I could see Aveline, Isabela, and Varric now, but they were wise enough to stay out of it. This man was mine.

Karras was a heavily trained warrior. He took pride in his skills. I could tell as I fought him. But he was nothing compared to me. He had hurt my Abby. He had tried to take her from me. No one was ever going to take her from me again.

"What's the matter, elf? Getting tired?" He taunted as I toyed with him.

I wanted him to believe he was winning. It would make the kill so much more satisfying. I thought about sliding into him and making him explode. The pain was exquisite. I could feel it in them as they ripped apart. But I wanted to see the look of fear and defeat in his eyes when I crushed the life out of him.

He knocked my sword out of my hand and his grin widened. "And now I have you. Know that your death was in vain. She's going to be the newest pet of Meredith's once we reverse this magic. And as a reward, I'll get a taste of her." He swung and I ghosted. The look on his face as he hit empty air was priceless.

I reappeared and reached my glowing hand into his chest. I wrapped my hand around his heart slowly, savoring the agony he was experiencing. "What was that about my death?" I asked with a cold laugh. The other templar had climbed to his feet. I turned to him, continuing to hold Karras. "Do you wish to continue this fight?" I asked the man. He quickly shook his head.

"This was wrong from the beginning." He answered.

"Smart man." Varric said as he held Bianca pointing at the templar.

"You traitor! Kill him!" Karras yelled and then gasped as I squeezed his heart a bit. "Stop this! I'm a templar! You can't do this to me!"

"Oh, but I can. I did warn you and your commander. I told you if came near her and I would kill you." I snarled. "You should have listened to me." I turned to the other templar. "Take Meredith a message for me. Tell her she made a new enemy today. Tell her I won't forget this. And if she ever comes near Abby again, I will slaughter my way through the whole templar order to get to her."

"I will. Please let him go." The templar asked.

"No." I said and crushed Karras' heart. I watched him gasp for air as the pain filled his mind, blinding him. It only lasted a second before he was dead, but that second was something to savor.

The other templar looked around for a second. All his companions were dead now. He gave a sharp nod to me and then ran.

I released my powers and rushed to Abby. She had woken up at some point and was watching me. Bandit growled as I got near and she whimpered.

"Abby, are you alright?" I asked. She curled into Bandit and watched me with large sad eyes.

"He hurt Merrill."

"Anders found her, angel. He's taking care of her." Isabela answered moving closer. Abby cut her eyes to her and then back to me.

"You came for me."

"I'll always come for you." I promised. "I'm so sorry, Abby. I didn't mean what I said. I never should have let them near you."

She looked down at the ground. Her cheek was bruised as were her tiny hands. I wanted to wrap her up in my arms, but she was still too afraid. She looked back up at me and her eyes had the same look that she had after we had found her mother. "He said…he said my family was dead. They're all gone, aren't they?"

"I'm sorry." I whispered. Words failed me now as they had when I had gone to comfort her after her mother's death. Her eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around Bandit's neck and sobbed.

"We need to get her back to Fenris'. Anders needs to check her over and we need to get the mage to fix this. She can't be left like this. It's too dangerous for her now." Aveline said moving to us.

"Abby, let me carry you." I tried, but she cringed away from me.

"No!" She cried. Bandit barked at me and nudged her. She nodded to him. I suppose a mabari bonding was still there no matter what happened. She climbed onto his back and clung to his neck. He looked at me with an apologetic look and then took off.

"I wonder if I can work that into my story." Varric said trying to lighten the mood. I glanced at him and then dejectedly followed after the mabari. She would never trust me again. I failed her at every turn.


	10. Chapter 10

**Anders**

They had all returned to Fenris' shortly after I had managed to get Merrill inside and in bed. Merrill was going to be fine. She just needed to rest. Fenris was going to have to deal with having her under his roof for a while. Not that I blamed him for disliking Merrill. She was a blood mage after all.

Abby was banged up a bit and devastated with what the templars had said to her. I cast a healing spell on her and left her curled up in Fenris' bed with Bandit. She didn't want any of us anywhere near her now. Her sobs were breaking my heart.

I even felt bad for Fenris who leaned against the wall outside his room. With each sob he looked smaller somehow. Curling into himself, shame and misery clearly written all over him. As much as I disliked him, no one deserved that sort of pain.

"Let's leave her alone for a bit. I would cast a sleep spell on her, but I don't want to frighten her anymore. She'll be alright. Eventually." I sighed. "Let's go and see if Rona remembered anything."

"We can't leave her alone." Fenris protested.

"I'll stay with her. You three go on. Aveline, you probably need to return to the guards. I would imagine Meredith is going to be furious." Isabela said.

We descended down into the basement. I went and opened Rona's cell. She hurried to sit up. "What was all that screaming? Is Hawke alright?" She asked frantically.

Fenris glared at the woman. "No thanks to you."

"Fenris, don't scare her again." Varric warned.

"Rona, have you remembered anything? We can't leave Abby like this. The templars are after her. They nearly managed to get her. We have to undo this."

"She's…she's in danger?" Rona asked worriedly.

"Yes. They have plans for her. Please Rona, try and remember." I pleaded.

"I…I don't know. It was so fuzzy. I was so scared." She said fidgeting with her robes. The heavy chains keeping her small hands from reaching up much. "I might could remember if you brought her to me. And took these chains off. They are so heavy."

"Why would you need us to bring you Hawke?" Varric asked narrowing his eyes at her.

"It…she might help me remember. And the chains hurt so much. Please." She asked looking at me hopefully.

"She's lying." Fenris suddenly snarled and shoved past me.

"What?" Rona looked at him frightened.

"Fenris, you're scaring her." I protested. "Let her go!" I yelled as he jerked her to her feet.

"No." He said and drug her out of the cell.

"Fenris, this isn't the way to make her remember!" I called and hurried after him.

"We've tried your way, mage. It isn't working. This ends now. One way or another." Fenris snapped and drug her up the stairs. Rona protesting and crying the whole way.

We could hear Abby and Isabela as we drew near to Fenris' room. "Abby, angel, it's going to be alright." Isabela pleaded.

"No! I want my daddy! I want to go home!" Abby shrieked.

"Angel…" Isbela pleaded.

"No! Stay away from me! You lied to me! You all lied to me! I want to go home!" Abby finished in a strangled choking noise. It was followed with a low growl.

"Easy, Bandit. You know I would never hurt her." Isabela said soothingly to the angry mabari. "Abby, we love you. All of us. We didn't want to hurt you. Honey, we're going to make this better."

"None of you can. Nothing will ever be right again. I'm all alone. They're all gone. You should have let the templars take me." Abby sobbed.

Rona stumbled and Fenris' grip on her was the only thing keeping her from the ground. "What have I done? It wasn't supposed to be like this. I was going to help her. We were going to help each other. I was going to make it all better for her. For me. We were going to be happy." Rona began rambling.

"What?" I asked horrified.

Fenris jerked her around so he was towering over her. "What did you do, demon?"

"Not a demon. Just the promises from one. She was supposed to help me. She said it was the only way for me, for us to ever be safe." Rona said and turned to me, pleading with me to understand.

"What have you done, Rona?" I asked feeling sick.

"What I had to. You know how bad it is, Anders. They are doing things. Horrible things. They took her from me. I couldn't find her. I couldn't help her. But I could Hawke. She's so sweet and pretty. So good. She doesn't deserve so much unhappiness. They keep taking everything from her too. We were going to be a family. I was going to make it better. But you interfered." Rona said angrily and looked at Varric, Fenris, and me.

"Who did they take from you?" Varric asked looking as sick as I felt.

"My baby. They created her in me. Then they took her from me. So she came to me at night. Told me that I could have my baby back. She told me what I had to do." Rona said, her eyes were unfocused as she spoke.

"Who came at night?" I pressed afraid I already knew.

"Don't know her name. She doesn't speak it to me. Just a voice in my mind. Showing me things. Telling me things. We saw Hawke one day from our room. We knew she was what our baby would look like someday. She was helping a mage there. She was good. We knew all about her. All mages do. She was so sad, but still she came. We could make her not sad any more. We could make her whole again. Give her a family." Rona then focused on me. "I told you not to come, Anders. I told you it wasn't safe for you. I didn't want you to get hurt. All I needed was Hawke. The demons would have finished the others off. You distracted me. You weren't supposed to be there yet. We were going to come to you later. Complete our family. We had to protect you from them. That's why it wasn't finished. That's why she's scared. Let me fix her. Let us be the family we are supposed to be."

"What are you talking about?" I asked growing scared. Rona wasn't Rona anymore. She had a demon in her. This is what the templars drove us to. If she had been allowed to keep her child none of this would have happened.

"We were going to be a family, Anders. You, me, and Hawke. We would have been happy together. We could give her the childhood and family they took from her. And if they got too close we could undo the spell and have Hawke as our protector. I was going to make you both happy. But it went wrong. Undo the chains and I can fix it."

"And how will you fix it?" I asked waving Fenris off as he snarled. I wasn't stupid. We couldn't let her out. But we had to know what the spell was. If I knew, I could undo it.

"I'll finish the spells. Make her a baby. Erase her memories of this time. Don't you see, Anders, it can still work." Rona smiled at me and held her hands out.

"You are so powerful if you could do all this, Rona. I never realized how much power you had. What spell did you use to do this?" I asked trying to smile at her. I needed her to trust me. We had to find this out now. Rona wasn't going to survive much longer.

She looked at me coyly. "I've been studying up so I would be worthy of you. I want to protect you too."

"And you will. We will run off. We'll find a way to save all the mages. No other mage will ever lose their child." I promised her. She smiled at me, tears filling her eyes.

"I knew you would understand." She reached up and touched my cheek and it was all I could do not to shove her away.

"The spell, Rona." I pressed moving closer.

"It was so simple really. A time spell."

"A time spell? They don't work like this." I said looking at her shocked.

She smiled and laughed. "It takes a bit more fuel than a normal one. And a change of a few words, but yes, a time spell. My notes are in the tunnel where you found me. After I've fixed her, we can go and get them. I'll show you. Then we can be a family as we were meant to be."

I took a step back from her. Rona had been one of the mages from the underground movement in the Circle. We had known each other from Ferelden. I hadn't known she had feelings for me. This poor girl had such potential. Templars ruined everything.

"Where did you hide them in the tunnels?"

"Why?" She asked looking at me confused.

"I don't want you and Abby down there again. If you tell me, I can go and get them." I said giving her a smile again.

"Oh, Anders! You are as sweet as I thought you would be. In that room you found me, the back wall has a hollow spot where the bricks come away from it. All my stuff is in there. That's the room I do all my rituals in. I've tried to find my real baby, but she's gone. So Hawke will have to work for now. You love her anyway. So she will be our first. Once we're safe we can have more." She smiled at me. I turned and looked at Fenris and Varric.

"Do you have what you need?" Varric asked. I nodded and turned to Fenris.

"Do it quickly." I whispered. I closed my eyes and turned my back as he began to glow.

"Anders? What is he…no!" Rona cried. I heard her gasp of pain and then the chains hit the ground.

"You alright?" Varric asked me.

I nodded sadly. "She was a good kid. They did this to her. Drove her to this madness. They have to be stopped."

"Now is not the time for Anders' personal agenda. We need those spells. You can undo this, right?" Fenris growled at me.

"If she really left notes, then yes. If she didn't, it could take some time. Time spells are tricky." I sighed. "We need to get rid of her before Abby finds her."

"I'll handle it. I don't want to leave Abby again. I'll get Isabela to go with you." Fenris said.

"I think Blondie shouldn't go. The templars are crawling all over those tunnels now. Hunting her. And if he was caught now…" Varric said.

"They would kill him without hesitation." Fenris sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Varric and I will go. You two stay here with Merrill and Abby." Isabela said coming out of the room. Abby's cries were still echoing through the doorway. "We'll swing by and grab Big Girl."

"You two don't kill each other. Remember we need Blondie alive to reverse this." Varric said frowning at the two of us.


	11. Chapter 11

**Fenris**

I paced my room as Abby lay sleeping in the bed. Anders had been pouring over the notes the others had brought back. I glanced at Abby. She was curled up on my pillow. One hand holding tightly to Bandit's collar. Bandit laid there watching me, his eyes following me as I paced.

Anders entered the room and looked exhausted. "I think I have it. At least I have something to try." He said. The others followed behind him.

"Is there a chance it could hurt her?" I demanded moving between him and Abby.

"Give me some credit, Fenris." He snapped at me.

"It's your fault she's in this mess." I snapped back. "Magic did this to her. Forgive me if I don't trust you, your kind, or your judgment!"

"This isn't my fault. Rona was fine before the templars raped her and took her baby!"

"So you say."

"Um, guys, now is not the time for this fight." Varric pointed out. He glanced at the others. "How does she deal with them at all?"

"Well, it's easier for her. She gives them a pouty look and they are putty in her hands. Maybe you should try it." Isabela suggested.

I sighed heavily and rubbed my face. I was exhausted. The last few days had been grueling. And I was dealing with magic. That never left me in a good mood. And having to apologize to the abomination was really getting to me.

"I'm sorry. It's just…" I started, but he waved me off.

"I get it. This won't hurt her. If it doesn't work, I'm going to have to do more research, but I'm hoping it will be simple."

"Simple is always what you should start with." Merrill said appearing in the doorway.

"You should be in bed, kitten." Isabela said moving to support her.

"I'm fine. Thanks to Anders. And I want to be here. Maybe you can walk me home after?" Merrill asked her.

"Sure thing. Varric will come with us. We'll have a drink and think of all the ways to torment Abby now that we've seen how bratty she was when she was little." Isabela smiled at her.

"Are you going to move?" Anders asked.

"Should we moved Bandit?" Aveline asked.

"I don't know that he would let us. And it shouldn't hurt him either. Just need access to her. Anders explained. I took a step to the side and waited. Anders glowed and began chanting. A glow started around Abby, but as if faded away nothing happened.

Anders sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Of course it wouldn't be that simple. The girl was crazy, but talented. Some of the things she wove together…" Anders shook his head and glanced at Merrill. "If you feel up to it, maybe you could go over it with me. Maybe you'll see something I missed."

"Of course. What are we going to do in the meantime?" Merrill asked glancing at Abby.

"You all go and get some rest. She's out for the night at least. I'll try and not lose her again." I said and moved a chair to sit next to the bed.

"I'll have a patrol sent round here for tonight. Are you sure you don't want us to stay?" Aveline asked.

"No. Bandit will let us know if someone gets in." I said and motioned them to the door.

"We'll be back in the morning." Varric nodded. All of them left quietly. The mood of the house was heavy. I felt an oppressive weight settling over me. What if we couldn't undo it? What was going to happen to her? Would she ever forgive us?

I bolted awake sometime later as Abby screamed. Bandit barked in confusion. I shifted from the chair to the bed and shook Abby gently.

"Abby, it's a dream. I'm right here." Her eyes flew open and she gave a sharp cry. Her voice was hoarse from all the screaming and crying she had done. She looked up at me and it was that same look she had given me earlier.

"You gave me to him." She sobbed.

"Abby, it was a dream. I would never give you to anyone." I pulled her into my lap. I was relieved when she curled up and wrapped my arms around her. I had feared she would pull away from me.

"But you did. You gave me to the monster. You told him to fight me. You didn't protect me. You were supposed to care about me, but you gave me to him."

"What monster, Abby?" I asked confused. I would never hand her over to a monster. Or anyone.

"The big one with the big horns and scary eyes." Could she be dreaming of the battle with the Arishok? Or was this the time in the Fade when we had gone to rescue Feynriel?

"Tell me about the dream." I said holding her close.

"He…killed a man. He threw his head and…" She made a small noise and trembled. I tightened my arms around her and made soothing noises. She was remembering the battle with the Arishok. "He was gonna take Isabela. He was mad about a stupid book. I said he couldn't. He got really mad. And you told him to fight me. He said if I lost he would kill me and take her. You didn't care. You told him to fight me. You made him agree to it. Why didn't you protect me?"

"Abby, I thought…I thought I was doing the right thing. I understood his culture. I knew you would try to protect all the other hostages. It was the only way other than to give up Isabela. If he had respected me as much as you I would have fought him, but he didn't. I knew you could handle him. I didn't realize you were scared." My heart broke as I realized where I had seen that look before. It was the same one she had given me when I had suggested she fight the Arishok.

"Of course I was scared! He's huge and scary! He was going to kill me! You…don't care about me. You always put me in danger and leave me there. Why, Fenris? Why don't you make sure I'm safe like I do for you?" I stared at her stunned. She was remembering things. Did it mean the spell had worked at least some?

"Abby, I never meant to make you feel like that. I do care about you. I never want to see you in danger or hurt. But you are so strong and tough. You always are the one to take care of all of us. I didn't know you needed me. I didn't know you wanted me to protect you."

She frowned at me, tears running down her cheeks. "Course I need you. You're supposed to be my knight. Like you were with the templars."

"I'm sorry, Abby."

She looked up at me with sad eyes. "Do you really think I'm bad?"

I hugged her to me, closing my eyes against the wave of pain. "Abby, you are a handful. You always manage to find trouble. You are constantly dragging me into messes. Having me fight for a cause I don't agree with." She started to pull away from me, but I tightened my hold on her. "But you're always well meaning. You would do anything for anyone who needed help. You are kind and generous. You are loads of trouble, but that is part of your charm. You are most definitely not bad. You are the best person I know. And I wouldn't want to change a single thing about you."

"You mean it?" She asked pouting at me.

"With all my heart." I promised.

"And you won't leave me again?"

"Never. And I won't hand you over to anymore monsters." She nodded slowly.

"Will you hold me until I can fall asleep? That's what Mother would do when I had a bad dream."

"Of course." I said and shifted so I could lay us both down. Bandit grunted in response and moved to one of the large chairs by the fire.

"Was I really older before the mage?" She asked.

I frowned down at her. "Who told you that?"

"Merrill. She said that I used to be older and that the mage made me little. She said that's why I don't remember."

"Abby…"

"Please don't lie to me anymore. I don't want to be angry. I'm too tired." She said sounding very much like the older Abby at that moment.

"You were older."

"Am I the girl hero Anders was talking about?"

"Yes." I answered worriedly.

"Huh. Night Fenris." She said and curled into my chest, wrapping her little fist tightly into the collar of my tunic.

"Night, Abby." I drifted to sleep wondering if maybe Anders would find the key to unlock this. She was remembering. It was going to be alright. Abby would eventually be adult Abby again. And when she was she would leave here. She wouldn't need me anymore. She definitely wouldn't be asking me to hold her after bad dreams. But she had wanted me to protect her from the Arishok. At least some what. Maybe she did need someone to lean on a bit. Maybe she wasn't the untouchable hero we all thought she was. Could she have been waiting for me to say something all this time?

The sun was barely lighting the sky from black to grey when I was woken by the sound of fabric ripping. I felt the pull of magic on my markings and opened my eyes, tensing for battle. I wrapped my arm more securely around Abby and then started as long legs tangled with mine. Abby shifted more and wrapped her arm around my waist. Seeing nothing in the room and Bandit still asleep in the chair, I glanced down at Abby.

Abby wasn't sweet little Abby curled into my chest. Abby was once again beautiful Abby wrapped around me. Her long, dark curls spilling down the silky expanse of naked back I could feel beneath my hand. I shifted slightly, holding my breath, praying I wouldn't wake her. The pretty purple dress hadn't survived the transformation. I wasn't about to look any farther to see if anything else had or not. I pulled the covers over her more and began shifting trying to get out of bed. If she woke up like this, naked and wrapped around me, I was fairly certain I wouldn't survive to explain.

Seemed the spell had worked. I wondered if Anders had fueled it with blood as Rona had if it would have worked sooner. All that mattered now was she was back. Would she remember the last few days? I froze as she tightened her arm around me. She snuggled closer for a moment and then grew still. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of having her close. I let myself run my hand through her hair. The silky strands were tangled and caught on my fingers. She made a small noise and furrowed her brow. I was debating ghosting away from her when she shifted off of me, turning over and settling down again. I slipped out of the bed and pulled the covers over her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Abby**

I started awake, suddenly feeling cold. I reached to pull the covers more tightly around me and groaned. My whole body was sore. I heard a quiet chuckle from beside my head.

"Fenris?" I asked shifting to my back.

"How are you feeling, Abby?"

"Like I got hit by a rock wraith again."

"Do you want me to go and get Anders?" He offered.

"Nah. I'll be alright in a bit." I sighed and rubbed my eyes. "I had the weirdest dream though." I snuggled into the bed for a moment and then realized I was naked. I shouldn't have been naked or in bed. And I definitely shouldn't have been naked, in bed, and with Fenris. "Fenris? Why am I naked and in bed? And why are you in my room?" I asked trying to make my mind work.

"You're in my room." He said. I opened my eyes and looked over at him. I sat up, clutching the sheet to me.

"What the Void?"

"What do you remember?" He asked. He was sitting in a chair next to the bed, watching me with worried eyes.

I shoved my hair back from my face and chewed my lip as I thought. "Well, we went to help that mage friend of Anders. The one that Meredith was wanting me to bring back or kill."

"Uh, huh." He nodded.

"We found her." I said slowly. My mind felt a bit fuzzy. "She was scared and summoned demons. Then…" I trailed off and shrugged. "So care to explain why I'm naked and in your bed?"

"You don't remember her casting a spell on you?" He asked.

"She cast a spell on me to make me naked and in your bed?"

"Abby, please. Do you remember what happened next?"

"No. I remember finding her and then…well, waking up sore."

"You said you had a weird dream." Fenris prompted.

"Not going to answer the naked thing are you?"

"Humor me."

"Fenris, I'll tell you all about my crazy dream if you give me some clothes."

"I can't. You don't have any here. Or any that will fit you now."

"What is that supposed to mean? I didn't walk through Hightown naked."

"Tell me about the dream."

I sighed and shifted so I was sitting on the bed. I didn't miss his eyeing my bare legs as I shifted the sheet around to keep me covered. Maybe he wasn't entirely immune to me. "I was a kid again. I didn't remember being me. I thought I was little again. Or still little. I don't know."

"You remember being a kid."

"Of course I remember being a kid, Fenris. No one wiped my memories." He cringed as I said it. "Sorry. I didn't mean to be an ass. This is just…"

"I didn't mean when you were first little. The mage turned you back into a child. She hit you with some warped time spell and made you a child. We've been trying to bring you back for a couple of days now."

I laughed. "Very funny."

"I'm serious. Do you remember the templars?"

I frowned at him. "Karras took me. And you…you saved me from them. Merrill!" I cried and started up. He pushed me back down. His hand stayed resting on my shoulder.

"She's fine. Anders healed her." He assured me.

"That…that wasn't a dream? That was real?"

"Yes." He said watching me worriedly again.

"Setting the library on fire?"

"Happened."

"And fighting with the armor?"

"You mean losing to the armor?"

"And the whole I want to be a princess and you're my knight?" I asked barely able to get the words out past the humiliation that was squeezing my throat.

"And the pigtails and pretty dress." He nodded with a slight smirk now.

"Great. Just freaking perfect." I said and laid my head on my knees as I curled up. All of the dream was real. The acting afraid, clinging to Fenris, calling him my knight. I gasped as I remembered the damn dream of fighting the Arishok. I had admitted being afraid. I had told him that I felt he had betrayed me.

"Abby?" He asked quietly and shifted to sitting beside me.

"If the ground would open me up and swallow me, that would be great." He chuckled.

"You were cute."

"You said I was trouble."

"Well, you wouldn't be you if you weren't."

"Fenris, can you do me a favor?" I asked unable to look over at him.

"What?"

"Can you do your glowy thing and crush my heart?"

"What?" He demanded and jerked me around to look at him.

"I can't look at any of you ever again. So, you know, kill me and spare me the misery."

"Abby, you did nothing wrong. Sure you were a bit…difficult, but you were a child."

"Nothing wrong?" I yelled and stood up, taking the sheet with me. I wrapped it around me and paced the room. "Other than act like a girly girl, cling to you like a freaking monkey, cry repeatedly, run off and nearly get Merrill killed, destroy your house, and say things I never would have said." I ran my hand through my hair. "I was weak. Damn it. Why couldn't she have turned me just one year older? I wasn't that stupid weak girl then. This wouldn't be happening right now."

"What?" He asked moving to stop my pacing.

"I was five. If she had made me six instead none of that would have happened." I pulled away and resumed pacing. "We were found shortly before I turned six. I saw Father kill the templars who came for him. We had to run. I started my training in earnest then. I knew then that there was never going to be someone to save me. I would always have to save myself. I swore I would never be weak or stupid again. And now…" I trailed off in misery.

"Admitting you were scared and crying doesn't make you weak, Abby."

I whirled and glared at him. "Says the man who never admits to a single moment of weakness. The man who can walk away without a single thought to another. The man who seems almost inhuman with his strength."


	13. Chapter 13

**Fenris**

"I'm still a man, Abby. I have weaknesses too." I said quietly.

"What? The fact you run if something gets uncomfortable? I can't think of another weakness. You only have one emotion and that's anger. Maybe two. Anger and rage. You don't let emotions or other things stop you. You didn't even let the fact you have a sister out there change your course." She snapped. She then hung her head. "I'm sorry, Fenris. I feel very vulnerable and exposed right now. I don't want to fight with you. I just want some clothes and to forget this ever happened."

"Abby, I have emotions. I just have been trained to suppress them. Years of the life of a slave can't be undone in a short time. And yes, I run. That is a huge weakness. One that has cost me so much. Even the chance at happiness. But I told you before and I meant it, I'm not running again. I'm not leaving you again."

"Don't. I can't have that discussion while I'm naked."

"Abby, we need to talk. I didn't know you were scared about the Arishok. I didn't know that you wanted me to protect you. I never would have suggested the battle if I hadn't known you could handle him."

"Don't, Fenris. You are not allowed to use anything that child said. She didn't understand things. I do." I moved closer to her and she backed up. "Please don't do this to me now. I'm not going to argue with you without clothes on. Please go and get me something to wear."

"No. This will keep you from being able to run from me. We are going to talk like we should have long ago. When I'm finished if you want me to leave, I will. I'll never bother you again, but I have to say this."

"Fine, I'll just leave in this!" She snapped and started for the door.

"Won't that make great gossip for Kirkwall? The Champion slinking home after a night with her elven slave wrapped in nothing but his sheet."

"You are not a slave, Fenris. Not mine, not anyone's!" She snapped turning to glare at me over her shoulder. "If you would stop thinking of yourself as such, you might be able to find that life you are so worried about starting." She took a breath. "Sorry. That was a low blow. Please, Fenris. Don't do this to me. It's hard enough to know that you saw me like that." She leaned her head against the doorframe.

"You're right. I've been too scared to try anything new. Scared I would mess it up. Or I would lose it. I've even clung to this falling apart mansion because it was a tie to the past. I didn't think I deserved more than this. I was sure if I tried to have anything, Danarius would show up and destroy it. So I shoved everything and everyone away. Keeping you at arms length when I wanted you in my arms." I reached up and began undoing the clasp on my tunic. I dropped it to the ground and reached for the laces on my pants. She turned to me and her eyes widened. Her eyes traced my lyrium markings on my chest for a moment before looking up into my eyes.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"Making things even. If we're both naked, neither of us can run."

"This is stupid, Fenris. She was stupid and weak. I'm not. Let it go."

"She wasn't and I can't. Abby, you mean too much to me to let you think that I think you're anything other than the amazing woman you are." I dropped my pants and reached for the cover to wrap around me. "Now then, we're even in being vulnerable. Come and sit with me."

"Fenris…" She shook her head.

"If you run, I'll just catch you. And since I'm stronger and faster than you, I'll just have to carry you back up here. And in the process, covers and sheets would be lost. I'm not opposed to that, but I would imagine you don't want to have this conversation fully exposed so, come and sit with me." I patted the bed and then arched my brow as she continued to be resistant. "Unless you are too scared to come sit with me." She narrowed her eyes at me and tossed her hair back. She stalked towards me and sat in the chair.

"So talk." She snapped.

"I never should have run from you. When I kissed you." She looked up at me and then away. "I was scared, Abby. Scared you wouldn't want me. Scared you would. I don't know how to be anything other than this. I'm a weapon, a killer, a slave. You know what I did to the Fog Warriors when Danarius came for me. The thought of hurting you…" I trailed off and hung my head. "It would kill me."

"Fenris, you wouldn't hurt me. You didn't know better then. You were confused." She said and moved to sit next to me. Even though she was embarrassed and angry, she was still willing to comfort me. She reached up and pushed my hair back from my face, her hand lingered a moment before she pulled back. "Oh, Fenris! I've been clinging to you, touching you. I'm so sorry. Have I hurt you badly?"

I caught her hand as she started to move. I traced her palm with my thumb. "I let you believe it was the pain of the markings that made me not want to be touched. They do hurt some. But that's not it. I was…tortured as a slave. The things he did to me…" I trailed off and shook my head. "Needless to say, touch to me has only meant one thing. I was scared to let you touch me. But that kiss has haunted me every night since it happened. I have longed for you." I said and looked at her. She didn't shift back as I moved closer. "I have no right to ask it of you. I have no right to expect that you could still care, but…"

"Fenris, you don't have to pretend that you care about me. I'm sorry that I said all those things to you. Both as a child and just now." She glanced away from me.

"Why don't you believe I could actually care about you?"

"Because no one actually cares about me. I'm a tool to be used. It's all I'm good for."

"Abby, that's not true." I said and wrapped my arm around her waist as she started to move away. "You are a wonderful, kind, thoughtful, generous, and strong woman. We are all in awe of you. And yes, we need you, but as more than just a protector. We need you to guide us, to help us, to comfort us. You give us strength and courage. You make us better. We all want to be better because of you. Abby, we all…care about you a great deal." I said and shifted my eyes away as she looked back at me. I was too afraid to admit my feelings. What if she didn't care about me as I did her? What would I do if she wanted to shove me away?

"Do you really not think less of me because of the child?" She asked and bit her lip.

"I rather liked getting to know more about you. Especially that you wanted to be a princess and you wanted me to be your knight." I smiled at her. She rolled her eyes and blushed. "Why didn't you tell me it was you making me the cookies?"

Her blush grew as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I was afraid you wouldn't want them. It was a way for me to give you something you wanted. Every time I try to give you a gift or something, you seem offended or indifferent. I knew you liked the cookies."

"Abby, I do like the cookies, but the best part of them was that you always brought them over."

"Did you mean what you said to me? Or was it that I was a frightened child?" She asked watching me with those eyes I loved so much.

"I meant everything I said to you."

"Even the part of not leaving me?"

"Especially that part. I won't leave you unless you ask me to. And even then, I can just follow you around using my markings." I smiled at her. She shifted slightly so she was leaned against me.

"And you didn't mind protecting me? You didn't think me weak and a burden?"

I reached up and cupped her cheek, sliding my thumb across it. "I liked getting to protect you for once. I respect that you are strong, but it was nice to be needed for once. I could get used to having to save you every now and then except that would mean you were in danger."

"Hmm." She said watching me as I moved a bit closer. "Oh, crap!" She said suddenly.

"What?" I asked pulling back. Had I misread her?

"Varric's going to turn this into a story, isn't he?"

"I'm sure he's embellishing it even now. All he needs is an ending." I said smiling at her as she leaned back into my arms.

"If this was one of his stories the restored maiden would need to reward her dutiful knight." She said as she ran her fingers lightly over my markings on my wrist.

"I suppose she would." I said, my breath catching at the exquisite pleasure that her touch invoked. She jumped up and moved over to the chest Isabela had put her child things in. "What are you doing?" I asked.

She came back with a red ribbon. "Giving you a token. I would give you the purple ribbon, but I figured you would never want to wear the purple one."

"You aren't going to expect me to wear it in my hair again, are you?" I asked worriedly. Her eyes lit up and she laughed.

"No. I still can't believe you let me get away with half of the stuff you did. You really were worried."

"I really do care." I corrected. Her eyes warmed as she wrapped the ribbon around my wrist.

"There. A token for my knight." She smiled at me shyly.

"Is that all your knight gets?" I asked moving closer to her. "He did take out a bunch of templars for you, put out two fires, and saved you from a suit of armor."

"If it was Varric's tale, no. He would get much more than just a token _if_ he declared himself." She said raising her brow at me.

"What if he was afraid?" I asked pausing just a fraction from her mouth.

"What does he have to be afraid of?" She whispered, her eyes daring me.

"What if the maiden doesn't feel the same?"

"Then she would be a fool."

I kissed her quickly. She wrapped her arms around my neck and molded herself to me. "From now on, all fights we have must be done without clothing." I said as I shifted her back in the bed.

"Why?" She asked giving me a puzzled look.

"Because it will make for easy making up."

"Hmm. Well there is that." She said pulling me closer. I kissed her as I worked the covers and sheets off of us. "Expecting us to fight often?"

"Well, two people who are both so strong willed coming together? We are bound to disagree from time to time."

"Take that to mean you are going to stick around."

"You aren't going to be able to get rid of me now." I promised and kissed her. I ran my hands over her body as she arched up into them. "This is what you want, right?" I asked suddenly fearful.

She opened her eyes and hugged me to her. "I want you, Fenris." I kissed her and resumed exploring her.

"Abby?" I whispered as I pressed against her. "I love you."

She tightened her arms around me. "I love you, too." I wanted to take my time. I wanted to make it special and meaningful, but I needed to be in her. She seemed to be of the same mind as she wrapped her legs around my waist and pulled me closer. "We have all the rest of our lives, Fenris." She promised as I started to protest.

She was right. This wasn't going to be a one time thing. She was mine now. My strong and heroic princess, and I her glowing knight. Wow, Varric really rubs off on a person. It was a line that would be perfect in one of his stories.

I pressed into her and rested my head against her forehead. Savoring the union of us. She watched me with those green eyes. We both gasped at the sensation as I shifted slightly. I wasn't going to last long. She was too perfect. It felt too right. I held still as she shifted against me. Playfully and slowly rolling her hips. I closed my eyes against the overwhelming sensations.

"Abby…I'm not…going…to last." I panted trying to resist the flood of pleasure that was spiraling through me. Begging me to take control and drive into her. This slow pace was torturous.

"We'll just have to do it again then. Practice does make perfect." She teased as she thrust her hips against mine. I shifted my weight a bit and was able to change the angle, making her gasp and then whimper as I began driving into her.

"Am I hurting you?" I asked going still. She tightened her legs around me and arched her body.

"Don't stop." She begged. I grinned feeling smug then and started the motions again.

Her body tightened and arched as her breathing became ragged. I prayed I could hold on just a little longer. The feel of her was fantastic and the noises she was making driving me insane. My name was on her lips as I drove her into the abyss. I followed after her, thankful I had managed to hold out. I lowered myself to her and kissed her as we pressed together a couple more times, easing down from the aftershocks.

As we finished I twisted, pulling her into my arms. She cuddled into my chest and wrapped her arms around me. I laughed as I ran my fingers through her hair. She lifted her head up and frowned at me.

"What is so funny?"

"I was just thinking that something good finally came from magic."

"What?" She asked puzzled.

"This. Us. If you hadn't been turned into a child, you would have never told me what I needed to hear to give me the courage to tell you how I felt."

"Aw! I like this soft side of you." She teased and nipped at my shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't tell Merrill you were making puppy eyes at me again."

"And I won't tell anyone how much you enjoy my making puppy eyes." I said twisting us back over. "Now what was that about practice?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Varric**

We arrived at the mansion and I was relieved that nothing seemed out of place. Anders and Merrill had stayed at the Hanged Man all night pouring over the notes from Rona. They were still arguing over what would work, but had finally agreed to try Anders' approach first. If it didn't work, they would try Merrill's.

"Shouldn't they be up by now?" Isabela asked as Bandit padded into the room and gave us a bark of greeting.

"Unless she woke up after we left and ran him ragged again." Anders said.

"We could only hope. Though, I don't smell smoke, so there wasn't a fire this time." I laughed and headed up the stairs. I froze in the door way and had to smile at the sight that was before me. "Well, it looks like your first thought was the right one after all, Anders." I said turning to glance at them.

"Oh, my!" Merrill said covering her mouth as she giggled.

"Well, looks like they've finally admitted how they felt." Isabela laughed. "Let's wake them up." I shoved her back as she started around me.

"Not wise for your chances of survival. He has his sword within reach. Obviously they don't need us, so let's go back to the Hanged Man. I'll get everyone breakfast." I said shooing the others on. Anders looked back and shook his head, but then proceeded out with the girls. I looked back one last time, etching the image in my mind. It was going to be the best story of mine yet.

Abby was asleep on Fenris' naked chest, one of her hands resting on his shoulder. Her hair a tangle of curls spilling over her bare back. Fenris had one arm behind his head, the other wrapped securely around Abby. The sheets and blankets tangled around them covering from their waist to about their knees. Their legs tangled together. And on his face was a full and happy smile.

I shook my head and left the mansion. My head full of ideas for the ending. And my heart happy with the fact that two of my favorite people had finally admitted they were in love. Now just to come up with a name for the tale. Maybe Little Hawke and the Glowing Protector. No…maybe…

"Come on, Varric! We're starving." Isabela called interrupting my musing. I could think of a title later. Right now it was time to celebrate. Life was good at the moment. And in Kirkwall, that could change in a moment. So we needed to celebrate while we could.


End file.
